Kroy’s War On Substance has been a steadfast policy that has stayed the course through the reigns of six Moguls. Though it has had its critics, it has been considered an overall public good. By promoting the prohibition of narcotic substances, Moguls and Baronets alike believe they are reducing social ills.

This perspective has come under fire to a great extent in the past decade. Multiple studies have proven that restricting these substances only encourages illegal use. Further studies have also proven that most Kroy citizens have tried some form of narcotic substance with minimal risk to their health. But the policies have stayed in place, with most Moguls stating that only criminals want the War On Substance laws changed. Even the rising violence in the Sagittarius-bound systems has strengthened their opinion that only criminals are injured by these restrictions.

But a recent protest caravan seems to be shedding light on another group effected by these outdated policies. A group of mothers, making their living working on borderland farm worlds, have started to travel the borders of Kroy looking for their missing children. They hope to expose the threats facing those who work in the war zone created by the War On Substance. And they’ve shown that those citizens struggling hardest to become part of Kroy’s culture are most at risk to the violence that these policies create.

In the worlds of the Kroy, the demand has never stopped for substances that can be snorted, smoked, patched, or ingested to create a temporary sense of euphoria. Trying to make these substances illegal has only had two noticeable effects. Those substance smugglers who can get their wares into the Kroy worlds can make an enormous profit. And Kroy reacts to those trying to cross the borderlands by increasing security in those worlds.

But traveling the same flight paths that carry smugglers are caravans of farming workers. The borderland farmworlds, which supply many of the crops to Kroy’s people, run thanks to migratory workers. Many of these workers must travel to each world in its growing season, only to move on to the next world that has crops to harvest.

However, the lives of these dedicated workers are being interrupted or cut short by the constant fighting around them. The fights between Kroy forces and the substance smugglers have reached such a fever pitch that assassinations and beheadings are everyday occurrences. Even with local forces trying to restore order, the sheer number of people trying to break into to the substance trade – and cut out the competition – is overwhelming. The balance of power swings wildly in these regions. This makes the borderland worlds a nightmare for the families who cross these worlds to find work.

The mothers of these planetary migrant workers have had some success. One woman was able to track down her adult son after nearly a decade apart. But most have not been so lucky, and many fear that their children are already lying in one of the mass graves made for victims of these massacres.

But even with the large amount of lives lost to these conflicts, Kroy moguls don’t seem concerned with trying to stop these murders and disappearances. Their actions instead prove they are eager to preserving an excuse for invasion. With the supply of substance coming in from the edge worlds, Kroy has the excuse to put controls on the region that they would otherwise have no claim to.

The borderland worlds of the Kroy have become a perfect stage for Kroy politicians, but the movement started by these brave mothers is a wake-up call. Kroy’s policies against substances cannot be seen as a necessary social good. It has dissolved into another political game of chess. The true cost of Kroy’s action along the borders must be seen in the faces of these brave workers.